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At this point you can explain that the photo was taken in 1939, just before the British and German governments went to war. Students should then be able to predict that people might have been leaving to get away from the war. You can then introduce the idea of the evacuation and together read the excerpt from an evacuated child giving a first-hand account of the experience.

3.

Have students use information from the photo and text excerpt to discuss the feelings of the evacuees. Ask students to choose one character in the photo, give him or her a name, and describe that character's feelings. Students can describe what the character smells, hears, and sees. They can also describe what the character is feeling on the inside (e.g., sad) or what the character is feeling on the outside (e.g., the wind blowing).

4.

Ask each student to choose one character from the photo and write down the feelings of that character in a notebook.

5.

At the end of the lesson, have each student share one of the feelings he or she listed for the character.

Choose a few students to play characters from the photo. Each student then sits at the front of the classroom, wearing his or her evacuee's label. Ask the characters to explain what their label is for.

3.

Direct the rest of the class to then ask questions of the "hot-seated" characters, such as:

When did you last eat?

How long have you been travelling?

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Is anyone in your family fighting in the war?

What could you hear on the train?

What could you see in the distance?

Were there any bad smells on the train?

4.

Lead the class into discussing the character's emotions by asking questions such as:

How did you feel when you left home?

Did you feel the same or different by the end of your train journey?

Are you feeling just one emotion or a mixture of emotions?

Are you trying to hide your feelings inside or do you think they are showing on your face?

Do you have a friend to talk to about your feelings?

Is there anything that you are glad you did before you left home today?

If you could make a wish to change one thing that happened this morning, what would it be? Why?

5.

Introduce the concept of similes and comparisons by building on the "hot-seated" students' responses. When "hot-seated" students suggest what they can hear, see, smell, or feel, ask them to give an example of what that feeling is like, so that the audience can create a vivid mental image. The conversations may resemble these:

[T] "How did you feel when you left home?"

[S] "I was scared."

[T] "What was that scared feeling like?"

[S] "Umm, maybe like how you feel when you lose your money for the school trip, but much worse."

-or-

[T] "What could you hear on the train?"

[S] "Adults whispering."

[T] "What did that sound like?"

[S] "Like the buzz of a broken radio."

[T = teacher; S = student]

6.

Note comparisons that students give during hot-seat sessions on the board so that others can get ideas during the writing time.

7.

Ask students to go through their lists from the day before and to add their own comparisons to describe each feeling.

8.

At the end of the lesson, ask students to share their most creative comparisons.

Session 3. Review examples of similes and write poems

1.

At the start of the lesson, hand out copies of the Shared Poem Structure sheet. Read the poem, noting that each verse describes a sense or emotion. Have students look at their comparisons from the previous session and discuss together creative comparisons to write on the blank lines of the poem. For example, the first verse could be completed as:

Today,

I can hear adults whispering,

like the buzz of a broken radio.

Discuss how using a comparison helps to make the image in the poem more vivid. Introduce the term simile-a phrase that compares two objects using ‘like' or ‘as.'

2.

Ask students to work on their own poems, using the Independent Poem Structure sheet. Students can use their notes from the previous two sessions to write their own ideas about the characters' senses and emotions on the first blank line of the verse. Then they can use a simile to describe these senses or feelings on the second blank line of the verse. For example, the first verse could be completed as:

Session 4. Edit final versions of poems

1.

Review students' progress on poems. Review why we use similes and share a range of images and comparisons from the students' work.

2.

Demonstrate how to use a thesaurus to find more creative versions of ordinary words. Thesaurus work goes best when the students have a specific focus, such as replacing all the "tired" adjectives or verbs with more creative choices.

3.

Ask students to edit their work with a partner, replacing words and checking that similes are included.

4.

Instruct students to write up the final versions of the poems and decorate them with illustrations. To give students ideas for illustrating their poems, have picture books about the war on hand, such as:

Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti, pages 10 and 11 (Harcourt, 1996)

A World War II Anthology selected by Wendy Body, pages 4 and 5 (Pearson Schools, 1999)

5.

You can post the decorated poems alongside a larger version of the photograph of evacuated children to make an impressive display.

EXTENSIONS

Students are now ready to write letters as evacuees or as the parent of an evacuee. Use sample letters and ideas from the BBC's Children of World War 2 Evacuee's letters webpage, to get started. Students can use the Letter Generator to type and print the final draft of their letters.

Have students explore the Imperial War Museum website to learn more about the Children of World War 2. This interactive website offers games, speaking and listening activities, as well as photos, posters, and sound clips.

This series of lessons can easily be applied to other wars, or to other historical subject matter, by simply substituting alternative photos.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS

Students' understanding of how to create a simile and improve their editing skills can be assessed by marking their poetry. Peer-editing gives students the opportunity to critique their own or their partner's work and works best when students are given specific criteria to look for. A list of such criteria for marking and peer-editing could include the following:

Session 1: Have I thought of creative ideas to explain what my evacuee would be feeling?

Session 2: Have I written a comparison to describe my evacuee's feelings in more detail?

Session 3: Have I used a simile to describe my character's senses or feelings?

Session 4: Have I edited my work carefully, using a thesaurus to change "tired" words to more creative choices?